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Items of Note

In the summer and early fall of 2013, at the refuge's most popular fishing spot, Ugashik Narrows, two Friends of Alaska National Wildlife Refuges volunteers collected information about visitor use. Learn more about what they discovered about sport fishing and guiding in the area.

Izembek and Alaska Peninsula and Becharof National Wildlife Refuges aim to harness the power of abundant wind to lower heating costs in refuge-owned buildings. Experimental wind turbines designed by a Texas-based firm are expected to offset heating costs while minimizing impacts to wildlife. Heating is the biggest drain on the refuges’ power use in Alaska.
Unlike traditional wind turbines, these are tube-shaped vertical-axis designs. Birds are often killed or injured by traditional windmills. No guy wires will be used on the monopoles supporting the turbines.
Electricity from the turbines will run to high energy-reserve furnaces, generating thermal heat. Like massive stone hearths, the furnaces will hold heat ready for release into the buildings, using the existing radiators. If the system proves effective, it could ultimately replace the current fuel oil furnaces altogether; but initially will run with fuel oil as a backup.

Pacific Salmon

Many of the salmon from the world’s most valuable sockeye salmon fishery (Bristol Bay) spawn in the streams that originate on Refuge lands.